The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1887-03-12
1T GROWS.

The Temperance Movement Being Con-
tinually Strengthened by the Intelli-
gence and Science of the World.
There is at present undoubtedly a
widespread interest in this subject.
There is wave or movement in favor
of teetotalism passing over both this
country and Great Britain. The rea-
sons for total abstinence are put upon
purely health grounds. 1t has been
found by repeated experiment that do
ing altogether without any thing that
contains alcohol, as wine, beer, whisky,
ale or porter, makes the head clearer,
thSsligestion better, the sleep sounder
and sweeter, and the general health
100 per cent. better.
A remarkable fact about the new
movement is that it is most popular
among the more intelligent classes.
The brain workers, writers, editors and
scientific men are becoming teetotalers
in numbers. They do it because they
find they can accomplish more and bet
ter work without it and endure longer
hours. Many of them are even stopping
the use of meat, and using only eggs,
milk and cheese for their animal food.
They also do without tea and coffee,
substituting milk in place of these.
There is a theory about this new de-
parture which sounds plausible. The
race, and especially the American peo-
pie, are developing the nervous system
beyond any thing hitherto known. Peo-
pie are becoming more finely strung,
more delicately organized. This is true.
The unheard-of prevalence of nervous
diseases in our times proves it.
With this highly-organized nervous
system, food and drink must neces-
sarily become more delicate and less in
quantity. The huge gorges of flesh
and gallons Of strong drink our half
civilized ancestors used to indulge in,
and then lie down like dumb brutes
and sleep it off, would kill the person
who would attempt such feat now.
But even this was nothing to our an
cestors still further back-cave. dwell
ers, who used to gorge themselves with
raw, bloody meat, tearing it apart with
their fingers, and then lie down in the
dust beside the bones and sleep that
off.
So you see that man does change and
does progress. Perhaps the time is
coming now for him to give up using
heavy, coarse food and stimulants of
all kinds. Perhaps the time is coming
when highly and finely-developed
nervous system will be stimulant
| enough.
1t is those who do heavy manual la
Dor that now send out for their pals
and pitchers of beer and ale with their
| lunches. The brain workers are ceas-
ing to do so. But Ben Franklin, the
teetotaler, proved, more than hun
dred years ago, when he was print
er, that he could carry heavier weights
and sustain them longer than his beer
drinking comrades. So it seems that
even severe physical labor can best be
| performed without stimulants. Sulli-
van, the prize-fghter, is obliged to sober
up and do without alcohol for time
| before q contest.
As if to put the final touch upon the
anti-alcohOl movement, physicians,
too, are beginning nov, to take stand
against stimulants. They begin to say
that alcohol can best be done without,
even in taking medicine. DIR. Joseph
Payne Logan, distinguished Southern
physician, is one of those who has thus
taken strong stand against alcohol.
He says it is not necessary in the treat
ment of disease.-FdTn and FtreSite.